Catch Up With Christina 11.5
3 things making the rest of 2025 lighter + tis the season for hackers + 14 years of marriage
CURRENTLY INTO
Watching: We’re all caught up on High Potential — our favorite family show right now.
Shopping: Spotted this duo on sale and immediately added it to my Christmas wish list.
Eating: Not necessarily eating yet, but I did prep a gift to myself in the form of several pans of baked spaghetti for Thanksgiving hosting week.
Reading: Double checking all the addresses in my spreadsheet for our Minted holiday card order! Use code CAROLINA20 for 20% off Minted stationery and gifts.
Listening to: lots of hold music while canceling our credit card after some festive thief hacked into my Anthro account and bought themself some holiday home decor.
Loving: Today marks 14 YEARS married to Matt, and we’re celebrating this weekend!
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
The viral Christmas tree I bought back in August is still hanging out in my living room…
I had a handful of Visa gift cards hanging out in my drawer, so I recently used my favorite little hack and wanted to re-share it! Add the Visa as a new payment method on Amazon, then reload your Amazon gift card balance for the exact amount left on the Visa card.
Scenes from my cozy fall dinner party with my Supper Club girls.
Oven dried orange slices are the holiday trend I’m fully behind this year. They’re easy to make yourself, gorgeous, and make your home smell like Christmas.
My 2025 Gift Guide for Tween Boys is live! This is always one of my most requested guides every year, and it’s a good one filled with some of our favorite gifts that Thomas loves and uses (like the football passer machine)!
These gel pens are my top seller right now, and I can totally understand why! These write like butter: .5 mm tip, smooth ink, no smudging, 10/10 recommend.
Caroline has been completely obsessed with this bedazzling kit lately and insisted I add it to the Tween Girls Gift Guide.
My most popular recipe right now is my Crock Pot Tuscan Chicken, so I gave this post a little love with updated photos.
Cozy Earth dropped their holiday sheets and I cannot get over the tiny tree print! Use code CE-CAROLINACHARM at checkout for 40% off!
THOUGHT DROP
If you’re already feeling the weight of the holiday season creeping in, here are 3 things I swear by to make the rest of 2025 feel a little lighter:
1. Schedule a Snooze Day. Before the holiday chaos really kicks in, mark a Snooze Day on the calendar and protect it at all costs. Your future self will thank you. Between sports, school events, travel, and all the extra to-dos that pile up this time of year, it’s so easy to run yourself into the ground. We usually pick one day each month (often a Sunday) to rest and recharge at home, and yes, sometimes that means cramming errands into another day to make it happen. But it’s worth it. If you want to know how we Snooze Day, you can read about it here.
2. Streamline dinner with Weeknight Winners. This is not the season to reinvent the wheel with meals. Between school events, holiday parties, and everything else filling your calendar, give yourself the gift of a simple dinner plan. My Weeknight Winners Meal Planning System takes all the guesswork out of what to cook, using a small rotation of our tried-and-true family meals (most of which are cozy, comforting, and perfect for winter). It’s the exact process I use to make weeknights easier and actually get dinner on the table without stressing.
3. Holiday parties without the hangover. I love holiday party season, but as I’ve gotten older, even one glass of wine can completely wreck my sleep and leave me feeling off the next day. My favorite cocktail swap is an Earlybird CBD gummy (my mom loves to put these in my stocking too). The flavor trio includes strawberry, watermelon, and lemon, and they give me just the right amount of relaxation without the hangover. During the chaos of the holiday season, they’re my go-to for winding down, sleeping well, and waking up feeling rested and energized the next morning.
Here’s to making the next two months a little calmer, cozier, and more doable.
LITTLE BOY GIFTS (AGES 5-7)
LITTLE GIRL GIFTS (AGES 5-7)
XO
